Antiskid tire tread



June 27, 1950 ]SQLQMQN ETAL 29E-)13,064

ANTISKID TIRE TREAD Filed Deo. 15, 1948 lll Patented June 27, 1950 ANTISKID TIRE TREAD Joseph Solomon and David Black, Springfield,

Mass., assignors to Victoria a corporation of Massa- Springileld. Mass., chnsetts Tire Company,

Application December 15, 1948, Serial No. 65,476 2 Claims. (Cl. 152-211) Our invention relates to improvements in a composition of matter and to a method for making the same and it is directed more particularly to the provision of a composition in which rubber or a similar substance forms a base and has asthat part stability and goed wearing qualities and to produce the desired anti-skidding or antisociated therewith loosely woven metallic libres or elements.

It is the principal object of our invention to provide a new material which can be used in a `variety of ways and is adapted for a myriad number of purposes. According to one of the novel features of our invention, we provide a composition which can be effectively used in vehicle tires, so as to permit the elimination of tire chains during those periods of the year when driving conditions are hazardous due to the presence of rain, sleet, ice or the like on the highways.

According to another of the novel features of our invention, we provide a new material which may be used on pneumatic tires for all types of vehicles including passenger, commercial and industrial types and like pieces of equipment.

Broadly, our invention relates to improvements in compositions of matter in which rubber, vulcanizable gums, and other similar substances provide a base and have dispersed therein fin-like or ribbon-like metallic elongated filaments.

Another principal object of our invention is tov provide a composition of matter which shall have all of the characteristics of rubber, such as elasticity, pliability, and resistance to slipping on ice and snow, and which shall incorporate the added features of a substantially greater resistance to wear, and a non-puncturability from sharp points of various foreign substances, particularly glass.

A further object is to produce a composition of mattercontaining and embracing the foregoing characteristics which is particularly adapted for use not only on vehicle tires but also on rubber heels and other items which are subject to wear, and which may be molded or worked into various forms and articles which shall possess the aforesaid characteristics uniformly throughout the mass so formed, whereby the desired uniformity of wear and non-puncturability is promoted and extended. A

A further object of our invention is to produce a composition of matter, the degree of toughness, pliability and softness of which shall be entirely due to the base and the materials incorporated therewith.

A further object of the invention is to construct a pneumatic tire with a knitted metallic fabric embedded within its tread portion to give slipping effect, portions of the laments being exposed through the surface of the tread, and the laments being interwoven as to themselves so as to prevent any one of or any group of the wires from being stripped from the tire should it become caught in an object upon the road or otherwise engaged with a foreign object.

Another purpose of our invention is to provide an improved means for forming tire casings. so

as to. prevent effectively the breaking oi of rubber fragments from the same and to insure further the longevity thereof.

Broadly, our invention comprises embedding in the non-skid tire casings a layer or layers of. a composite fabric comprising strands of loose ribbon-like interbraided or interwoven strands of metal in the form of wire or wire laments so as to hold rigidly such wires in position within the material of the tire itself.

A further feature of our invention comprises a disposition of the material within the tread portion of the tire so that the wire laments are presented to the road surface at angles relative to the same whereby the wires form sharp burrs which increase the frictional resistance between the road surface and the tire and decrease the possibility of skidding or slipping.

It is a further purpose of our invention to provide a material meeting the above stated requirements more nearly than any prior material known in the art. To this end, I make a sheeted material composed mainly of a rubber or,rubber compound but containing the distributed filaments or threads. These distributed filaments are so contained as to give a reinforcing action in all directions and to appear, in part, gat the wearing surface, thus increasing the surface coeillcient of ifriction and lproducing a. substantially non-slip surface. ',.In my material, these aforementioned characteristics persist as the material is gradually Worn down through the body of rubber and libres by continued use.

For purposes of clarity, certain definitions of terms used in the tire industry should be understood as these terms are used freely herinafter in our specification. Tread stock" is the material used in the tread portion of a. tire. Camelback is uncured, compounded rubber used for recapping or retreading tire casings. The tire carcass is the foundation structure of a pneumatic tire consisting of several super-imposed layers of cord fabric which are insulated and/or coated. The carcass plus the bead is the air or To the above vcited Yand otherv ends the foregoing and various other novelfeatures` and advantages and other objects .f/'ouiinyen-.gg

tion as will become more readily apparent;

thereof are always present at the expired surface.

The fabric 'i must be made from a loosely woven flexible metal as the metal has to be of a temper that will facilitate flexing and stretching with the stretching of the tread stock or v camelback-'all as will presently be observed.

description proceeds, ouinventionvconslistsgffin .g

certain novel features of construction and'in the combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claims hereunto annexed and. more fully, described and referred to in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a. diagrammatic elevational view for explaining our invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional elevational e view through the tread portion of a tire incorporating the features of our invention; and

`The base strip 6 may be of rubber, rubber cornposition, synthetic rubber or the like, but will be 'of such characteristics as to flow to some extent and to vulcanizeand cure under the influence of heat and pressure.

Neither the fabric nor the base strip need come from a roll as shown butto facilitate the prac- `tice ofthe inventionthe roll forms may be del sirable.

VThe fabric and base strips are subjected to Vpressure so that the metallic fabric is incorporated and dispersed into the base strip. This may be accomplished by rolling and pressure. In the form of the invention being illustrated, there are apair of pressure rolls I through which the strips are passed.

It is desired in all cases that the metallic strip or strips, and therefore the ribbon-like filaments thereof, be dispersed throughout the base strip so thatthe edgs of the filaments are generally Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of -I the knitted :fabric used in* the device ofthe invention.

In the above mentioned. drawing .annexlve-d hereto and forming a part ofV this specification.:

we have shown but vone embodiment 'of 'our invention which is deemed preferable, .but it` is to be understood that changesand modifications may be made Iwithin the scope of the'. appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention. v

Referring now to the drawing more in detail, more particularly to the preferred form of our inventionv selected for illustrative purposes, we have shown rolls 2 of metallicfabric 41 fabric is in strip form and comprises a plurality of thin ribbon-like loosely woven metallic strands or filaments 4' which are woven or knitv'ted together, so as to be interlocked. The fllaments have a. greater transverse widththan v thickness thereby to provide a multitude of sharp edges. Preferably the weaving or knitting lwill resultin the sharp edges of the fabric being disposed outwardly relative to the faces of the fabric as wearing takes place.

The -woven wire fabric 4 is treated by any suitable method with va solvent or cement such as Salvasol #2 having an affinity Ifor the material of a base strip 6 usually referred to in the tire trade'as tread stock or camelback. Salvasol is the commercial trade name of a gasoline product, same being a thinner for stimulating the adhesive qualities in raw rubber. The strip Iimay come from a roll 8 thereof.

This.

outermost in the resulting composition and present a multitude of relatively sharp edges at the surface of the structure.

The metallic fabric, once incorporated in the' basel strip as itis, is not separable therefrom.

v"I h'ere'lis .provided a composite structure I2 .wherein the base strip may function according to? its 'normal characteristics while the metallic Y :fabric functions to strengthen and to reinforce thel resulting structure and at the same time to provide the vdesired anti-skid properties.

The composite structure maybe employed for various purposes but for purposes of disclosure it is shown as being served around a. tire carcass Il one or several times. It may be rolled thereon by a concaved roll I6.

If desired, the longitudinal marginal edges of the fabric may be ruptured with transverse cuts extending inwardly thereof so as to facilitate the forming of the structure I2 around the transl versely curving tire or carcass and to facilitate pressurein the well known manner.

There may be upper and lower fabric strips l and an intermediate base strip 6 or there may be as many strips of either fabric or tread stock 'or camelback as desired. The selected number of thickness thereof; that is, there will be sufficient layers of the metallic fabric to provide a com`- position Iwhich has metallic elements dispersed .throughout the base strip in such a way that as the composition wears filaments and/or edges also the distention of combined fabric and camelback in the molding process shortly to be described.

With the camelback or tread stock thus served around the tire or carcass, the combination may be placed in a mold and subjected to heat and That is to say, the metal is formed by interlocking ribbon-like metallic filamentsy as by weaving, knitting or the like and the interlockingv is such that y the filaments are relatively shiftable or the fabric is flexible. The flexibility will be such that when the composite structure is served in one or more layers about a tire carcass and the carcass is placed in a mold for vulcanizing or curing the metal fabric will become deformed or be displaced so as to be disposed in the tread depressions of the mold as the base material is caused to flow thereinto by internal pressure'applied to the tire carcass as best shown in Fig. 2. This is important where the tire is to have a tread pattern commonlyY called a molded tread design which has ribs, buttons I8 or the like of greater height than with an ordine/ry tire tread and according to the invention in such acase the metal is .displaced so as to be present in the buttons and even at the.

outer surfaces thereof.

As aforesaid the metallic fabric being uniquely 'woven or knitted for interlocking the filaments thereof, is pliable and moidable. It does not impair the fiowability of the base material as occurs in the molding operation, infact it is in itself readily moldable and deformable whereby the structure may conform to the pattern of the mold.

Where the structure isserved about a tire carcass so there are superposed layers the metallic fabric oi. one layer may well interlock with those of another so that the tire has a unified, reinforced anti-skid tread portion. v

Our invention may be embodied in other speciic `forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. Hence, the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects merely as being illustrative and not as being restrictive, the scope of the invention being vindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all modiilcations and variations as fall Iwithin the mean- A .Y

ing and purview and range of equivalency of the appended claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What it is desired to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A pneumatic anti-skid tire construction comprising in combination, a carcass having an outer circumferential tread portion integral therewith formed of yieldable resilient material having spaced outwardly extending anti-skid projections, and a. flexible layer of interwoven ribbon-like metallic filaments extending con-l tinuously across the tread portion and circumferentiallyy of the tread portion and having a multiplicity of sharp edges disposed in the tread portion with portions of the filaments of said layer thereof distended outwardly into the antiskid projectionsand presenting multiple longitudinal sharp edges adjacent and atl the outer faces thereof.

2. A pneumatic anti-skid tire construction comprising in combination. a carcass having an outer circumferential` tread portion integral therewith and formed of yieldable resilient material having spaced outwardly extending antiskid projections, and a plurality of flexible layers of interwoven ribbon-like metallic filaments extending continuously across the tread'portion and circumferentially of the tread portion and having a multiplicity of sharp longitudinal edges disposed in' the tread portion with portions of said layers displaced from the median circum-` ferential planes thereof outwardly into the projections. v

JOSEPH SOLOMON. DAVID BLACK.

lREFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

. UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Great Britain July 10, 1924 

